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Pork dish that won’t go belly up, whatever the weather’s doing
Clare Latimer responds with some culinary solutions to a summer that has been posing some tricky questions for those working in outdoor catering
WE have had more large catering jobs this year where clients have risked not having a marquee because last year was so dry.
It has been great fun running in with elderly folk in one arm and our food in the other, while ducking and diving the rain showers. All in all, we have not had one washout. One event was a near thing, with everyone just finishing their puddings when the skies opened. It certainly washed the dishes well!
With the weather behaving in such a ridiculous way, the recipes I have chosen this week will work well whether you are eating in the garden or round the dining room table.
Pork belly and apple sauce
Pork belly seems to be all the rage at the moment. It is certainly a great favourite of mine, so when I recently went to Tom Aitkin’s Kitchen, I could not resist indulging in this wondrous dish.
The actual pork, which was Gloucester Old Spot, was wonderful, but all the vegetables were cooked in the fat that had run from the meat. What with the crispy crackling and the fat lurking between the skin and flesh, I wasn’t able to eat the vegetables owing to the amount of fat. On hearing my answer when asking if I had liked my dish, the waiter just told me that I had chosen a fatty dish, with a “so there” attitude.
I then went to The Wells bar in Hampstead and chose the same dish. That was superb, so no need to go down into London for us Camden folk – and cheaper to boot!
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1½ (one and a half) kg pork belly
1 teasp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Little olive oil.
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 220C 425F gas mark 7. Place the pork belly in a large roasting tray, rind side down, and pour in a couple of centimetres of water. Place the roasting tray on the hob, bring it to the boil and let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then drain the water off and dry with kitchen roll. Season on both sides.
Rub the skin of the pork with the cumin and a little olive oil and place back in the dried roasting tin, skin side down again. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, then turn the meat skin side up and turn the temperature down to 175C/gas mark 4 and cook for another hour, basting every so often.
The crackling should be nice and crisp by now; if not, turn the temperature up and cook it until it is crisp. Serve with the apple sauce.
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